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Who's Afraid of a Big Bad Bear

by Rev. Brooke Vernon Grant

Seated Black Bear

Now, again, back to the bear story – you people get so easily distracted. Try again to pay attention. This is the same way that we tend to do the daily lessons in the Course(lots of distractions). I had given Sunshine-Adventure that huge beef bone that I told you about. She was eagerly devouring it in the front yard near the porch. As was my usual custom, I left the door ajar so that she could push the door open if she wanted to come back inside. I know; I know. Bears could also push the door open and come inside too. My two sons, Seth and Justin, keep telling me that also. But, I'm so spiritual that only very friendly house-trained bears would ever come in. While my sons do warn me about the dangers of my open-door policy, they certainly have not suggested that I build a high wall around my property to keep out illegal immigrant bears. Besides, who would pay for the wall? Certainly not the bears – and certainly not the Mexican government. From what I learned in the Course, if I defend myself by closing my door tightly. I am attacking the bears. So I faithfully remain defenseless. "In my defenselessness my safety lies." (OrEd.WkBk.153)

Okay. Stop interrupting my story. While the dog chewed on that most delicious bone (I'm guessing, since I'm a vegetarian and sometimes vegan), I started watching a fascinating, two-hour long, History Channel film about ancient religions. Periodically, maybe every 20-30 minutes, (see how I started this sentence with a "big" word to impress you, but you were not impressed), I would get up from my potato couch and walk to my front door to check on the dog out in the front yard. (By the way, I also mentioned that "ancient religions" film to impress you. I guess that didn't work either. You're a tough audience). Okay, onward! Everything was fine for the first couple of dog checks. But this time, when I peered out the glass top of the door, I was looking at maybe a 400-pound black bear running full-tilt out of the woods into my front yard.

Amazing Scholarship - For Experienced, Committed Students

by Dr. Bob Rosenthal

Circle of Atonement Editon ACIM

With Helen's notes serving as their backbone, Robert Perry and the Circle of Atonement have tried to rebuild the Course from the bottom up in order to achieve their stated goal of restoring the Course to its original form, that is, "the original words as Helen received them," (p. 1920) editing these words with only the lightest touch possible. As a result, they have reinserted a great deal of material from the Notes and Urtext that was cut, not just from the FIP Edition, but from the Hugh Lynn Cayce draft as well. This is particularly true for the early chapters of the Text, where approximately 150 pages of new material and explanatory footnotes have been added.

In doing so, they make a key assumption, one that is essential to understand if we are to view this new edition in proper perspective. They consider the original wording from Helen's Notes to be the most accurate. This implies that the rapid-fire, stream of thought that Helen managed to capture and record in words, taking it down in her own personal shorthand, came through with such precision that it required little or no revision. Of course, anyone who has sat in a lecture hall attempting to take notes from a fast-paced lecturer can tell you how improbable this is. But there is a more significant issue here. Helen and Bill clearly stated that their editing was fully directed by the Voice: the same one that dictated the Course to her in the first place. So basically, we are being asked to believe that Helen overrode the explicit instructions of the Voice of Jesus in order to change and ultimately degrade the very Course she gave birth to. Robert Perry and the CofA give their reasons for making this assumption on pages 1911-1912 of this edition and their arguments come across as persuasive. But as neither Helen nor Bill are alive to present an alternate point of view, let me attempt to stand in for them and say what I believe they might have said in response.

CMC's 30th Birthday Bash

by Kelly Hallock & Rev. Tony Ponticello

30th Birthday Cake

To the people who will be here and carrying this organization forward after whenever – maybe Rev. Kelly and some of you whose years are fewer than mine – the one bit of wisdom I would want to empower you with is just keep showing up. Ninety percent of success is just showing up. No matter how dark and impossible it seems – and it will seem dark and impossible, it will – just keep showing up. Just find a way to keep the doors open and the Sunday Gatherings going. Just keep doing them because it just has a way of transforming and resurrecting itself if you just keep doing that. I have talked to a lot of people who tried to do something like what we are doing. They stop after awhile. What I see at a certain point is that it just got difficult and they got the guidance to stop. All I can say is that I never got that guidance. It really did seem difficult plenty of times, and I just kept going. I found a way. We found a way as an organization. A lot of that way now is with help from many people, certainly our Ministers and our great Board of Directors. Rev Rudy really helped with our last transition. We just rally and find a way to do it. So, you just never, ever give up.

The last thing I want to share is that one of the things that I do now, along with everything that I do. I am an Administrator on a very large Facebook group based on A Course in Miracles. Sharon Casey is here and she is an Administrator there with me. This is a great group but it is also a challenge because people in the group get really feisty. People get really triggered; people get really angry. A lot of things go on that seem like conflict. Then there are a lot of people who are conflict adverse and think we shouldn't be in conflict like that. Then there is conflict over the being in conflict. This spins around and around. People say we should have rules that would prevent this conflict. However I believe conflict in that type of group is inevitable. Actually conflict can be a positive form of communication if you don't judge the conflict as being bad. Conflict comes up because we have conflict in our minds and we are projecting it out there. You can't be so conflict adverse that you never allow conflict to come up. In the 30 years of the CMC, conflict has come up plenty of times. We just had to look at it, deal with it, try to resolve it, and not just brush it over like peanut butter on burnt toast.

My Statement of Faith

by Karla Middlebrooks

Dove Flies in Sun Burst

As part of my spiritual practice, I have been consistently prodded to distill the teachings of A Course in Miracles into some type of declaration or statement that would provide me with a foundation for reaffirming daily my allegiance to its thought system using as much as possible Text, Workbook or Teacher's Manual passages. We receive great encouragement to align our thinking to the Course's thought system when Jesus says, "To join with me is to restore His power to you, because we are sharing it." (OrEd.Tx.8.38) While I am mindful of the need to consistently consult the Holy Spirit for guidance, developing and using a personal statement of faith allows me to take the initiative to begin the process with the acknowledgement of my choice to follow the Holy Spirit and remember fundamental teachings. This assists me in reaffirming my allegiance to God and leads me into a mindset of receptiveness to be still and listen for guidance.

The process of developing a statement of faith began by assembling some of the content that "leapt off the page" to me during certain periods of reading, engaging in Workbook practice or participating in Community Miracles Center sponsored class times. Recently, I have begun my day with the following excerpts on being happy, the responsibility for sight, what is often referred to as the Course version of the Lord's Prayer and the opening paragraph to the Workbook section "What Am ?" "Be happy, and you gave the power of decision to Him Who must decide for God for you. This is the little gift you offer to the Holy Spirit, and even this He gave to you to give yourself. For by this gift is given you the power to release your savior that he may give salvation unto you." (OrEd.Tx.21.17)

Testimonials

CMC Mission Statement

" The Community Miracles Center is a worldwide community for anyone who is interested in the spiritual teaching A Course in Miracles. We are on the "Great Crusade" in learning how to forgive the world that we are in. We do that by LISTENING to guidance from Holy Spirit or our Higher Power, LEARNING about true cause and effect, and actively DOING things to shift the errors in perception. Our mission is to transform the world we see into a reflection of Heaven and manifest the "Real World." We do this locally, nationally, and internationally "